


4 times reid held morgan's hand in under 24 hours

by moreids



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: M/M, but only with 4, i love moreid u guys, this is like a 5 + 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-10
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-02 09:09:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10214210
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/moreids/pseuds/moreids
Summary: pretty much exactly what the title says, just a short thing about reid being soft on morgan since day one





	

1.

Reid’s crush on Morgan starts on their very first case. He’s young and unsure but smarter than the entire room combined. Everyone in the bullpen is eyeing him curiously as if he’s on display, like they’re waiting for him to do something they can disapprove of. He’s used to this, of course, having to prove himself constantly, wherever he goes.

Over the years he’s learned to block it out, the probing looks and the judgemental frowns. The more he thinks about it the more he realizes this is to his advantage. No serial killer, or anyone for that matter, expects an FBI agent to come in a tall, lanky, bespectacled package.

Agents Greenaway and Gideon have welcomed him warmly enough. At least as warmly as they can welcome a certified genius when there’s an open case and a serial killer on the loose.

The tech analyst, Garcia, welcomes him maybe a little too warmly but she’s smart and does all the talking for him and he can appreciate all the Doctor Who memorabilia on her desk.

In spite of Reid being unable to spot social cues that well he can tell that Agent Hotchner is a man spread far too thin, but dedicated to his job nonetheless. He seems organized and to the point and only curt when he has to be and probably files as many reports a week as Reid goes through books. He thinks it’ll be easy to work with him, as long as he doesn’t see him as a kid.

Agent Jareau is beautiful and so commanding with her words that Reid understands why she’s the media liaison. She smiles at him and he’s the complete opposite, a big floundering mess of pleasantries and too many facts she most likely has no interest in. She pretends to be, though, and he’s grateful because it gets the men listening in to stop snickering.

And then there’s Agent Morgan.

Every woman’s eyes are on him the moment he steps in the bullpen but that comes as no surprise. The way some of them look at him is practically animalistic, though Reid really can’t blame them.

Tall, dark, handsome, more muscle definition than all of his high school bullies put together. Reid thinks he can see right through him, read him as easily as he can a hand of cards, but for once, he’s wrong. Reid took one look at him and thought that’s all he’d need to know. He pegged Morgan as the alpha male type, expected him to be the all American, overtly masculine embodiment of the Bureau. It takes Morgan all of five minutes to prove him otherwise.

He talks to the senior agents with respect and the way he speaks tells that he’s well educated. The agent carries himself with the determination of a man who’s worked hard to get where he is. He certainly has the looks of a player but doesn't have the demeanor of one, although he does call Garcia babygirl when he first walks in.

He has kind brown eyes and a bright, sincere smile, but Reid doesn't know why he’s so focused on Morgan’s lips. His voice is smooth and self assured but not cocky, although he had every reason to be. The BAU has quite a reputation.

The doctor registers all of this in the three or so seconds it takes to scan Morgan’s body and his movements as he introduces himself and extends out a hand.

Reid hates handshakes. He sees no reason for them, other than as a terrifyingly fast method of spreading unwanted germs. He normally avoids all contact, actually, so he’s really not sure what compels him to return Morgan’s handshake as quickly as it's offered to him.

His hand is big and warm and strong, as Reid would have expected, but gentle at the same time. His thumb smooths over the back of Reid’s hand and makes electricity radiate up through his arm and Reid doesn’t think Morgan even realizes he’s doing it.

He’s also not sure why he keeps his hand in Morgan’s for far longer than a normal handshake requires.

“Welcome to the BAU, Doc,” Morgan says, and Reid attributes his stomach flipping over to the nerves and not the other man’s dazzling smile.

They watch Hotchner gesture towards the conference room as he strides out of his office, phone pressed to his ear.

“Looks like you’re gonna have a busy first day,” Morgan remarks, clapping Reid on the back.

2.

The minute Hotch says wheels up in thirty Reid starts to get anxious. He knew taking this job would include a lot of traveling, he had just declined thinking about it too much until right now. Reid’s been on very few planes in his life and although he knows the odds of dying in a plane crash are one in eleven million and far better than the one in five thousand odds of dying in a car crash, he can’t help the nervous feeling he has.

His knuckles are white on the armrests when they take off and he squeezes his eyes shut at every slight bit of turbulence they hit. Reid can hardly concentrate when they’re going over the details of the case but he manages to get through half the flight before Morgan slides into the chair next to him.

“You doing okay, kid?” The look he gives him is half concern and half amusement.

Reid is only able to focus on the way Morgan makes kid sound like a nickname and not an insult for a split second, but it doesn't go unnoticed.

“Did you know aviophobia affects six percent of the population? That’s twenty million people in America alone and-”

“No, Reid, I’m asking about one person, not twenty million. It’s okay to be nervous.”

A blush creeps over Reid’s face. He isn’t sure how to convey that he’s doing very not okay other than through spouting statistics.

“I haven’t been on a plane in a while,” Reid admits, staring down at his case file like it’s the most interesting thing in the world.

He’s still going over data and probabilities in his head but Morgan’s presence is surprisingly calming. The rise and fall of the other agent’s chest is easier to concentrate on than an endless stream of numbers.

Morgan nudges him with his arm and gives a reassuring smile. “To tell you the truth I used to be in that twenty million group, but planes aren’t so scary once you get used to them. You’re gonna be in a lot of them working with the BAU.”

Reid nods and watches as they pass over a mountain range. “I know. I want to be here, I just don’t like-”

The plane pitches forward suddenly and Reid’s in panic mode again, clawing at his seat for dear life. Their course is corrected after a few seconds and he can hear Morgan chuckling next to him. Reid can only hear it because he’s not sure he wants to open his eyes yet, although he has no doubt Morgan’s laughter is something he’d like to see.

“That. I don’t like that,” Reid says through gritted teeth.

He can hear the smile in Morgan’s voice when he speaks, dangerously close to Reid’s ear. “Trust me, pretty boy, it gets easier every time.”

Reid jumps when he feels Morgan’s hand moving under his own and then freezes in realization. While fearing for his life he had reached out blindly and found Morgan’s hand on accident, which is currently still held in his vice like grip.

When he feels Morgan twisting his hand under Reid’s his heart quickens. He had done it on instinct, but is Reid touching him really so bad that he can’t stand it?

Reid’s mortified and his eyes are still shut but he doesn’t dare to move, waiting for Morgan to react first. His eyes fly open when he feels Morgan flip his hand over so that their palms are facing each other, and he finally looks down when Morgan easily interlaces his fingers with Reid’s as if they had done that same motion a thousand times. 

“Hey, if you get nervous just squeeze my hand, okay?”

Morgan’s thumb rubs against his skin the same way it did when they shook hands, and it isn’t having a lesser effect on him the second time around.

3.

After the most chaotic twelve hours of Reid’s life spent profiling and following leads, they’ve finally got the unsub cornered in an abandoned warehouse. He hadn’t had the time to find another victim before the team got to him, so the takedown was easy, with one slight hitch.

Reid watches the unsub being put in the back of a squad car as he sits on the steps of the warehouse, cradling his hand.

Morgan walks over silently, his shadow blocking the flash of red and blue lights. He sits down next to Reid with a sigh, their arms brushing and knees knocking together.

“You did good today, kid,” Morgan says, nodding approvingly. When he doesn't get more than a hum in response he bumps Reid’s shoulder with his. “Reid? You alright?”

He nods immediately, his hair hiding the majority of his face. The genius clears his throat and tucks his hair behind his ear instinctively. “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just got a little cut on a pipe inside.”

Morgan reaches out and grabs Reid’s hand without warning, turning it palm up. The calluses on his fingers feel rough but his touch is gentle as he frowns at Reid, worry lines creasing between his eyebrows.

“You’re bleeding, Reid.”

The concern in Morgan’s voice catches Reid off guard and he begins to squirm as he starts waving a medic over. Reid hates bringing attention to himself, not if he can avoid it.

“Morgan, I’m okay, really, it’s a shallow cut. At the most I’d just need a tetanus shot.” He tries to tug away but Morgan’s grip is firm and determined.

When Morgan notices the way Reid is shying away from the medic as if his touch burns Morgan motions for him to leave, taking the gauze himself and turning his focus to the younger agent again. Somewhere in the back of his mind Morgan also registers the fact that Reid is perfectly fine with Morgan’s hand around his wrist.

“I’m no doctor, but let me help you, Reid.” There's a pleading look in his eyes that Reid couldn't resist if he tried.

Reid bites his lip and refuses to let himself grimace when Morgan wraps his hand up. He can’t let Morgan think he’s just a fragile kid.

Morgan flashes a grin and says, “There we go. All patched up and good as new. Let’s get home, kid.”

Reid tells himself the warm feeling spreading through him as Morgan smiles at him is simply due to leftover adrenaline.

4.

Despite the gauze making Reid’s cut itch like crazy, he still holds onto Morgan’s hand the entire plane ride home.

**Author's Note:**

> i love moreid and also feedback thanks for reading this i hope u have a good day !


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